WE are almost halfway into the campaign phase of the May 9 presidential polls. Surveys by both the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia have shown that this has become a four-cornered fight among Mar Roxas of the Liberal Party (LP), Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), Grace Poe of the Partido Galing at Puso and Rodrigo Duterte of the PDP-Laban, The competition is too close to call.
I am glad that Roxas and his running mate, Leni Robredo, are showing that the better bets can have a good chance of winning. I may have to repeat that: “better bets.” And it’s not only me who is giving them that tag. I have heard many people concede as much when they describe each of the presidential and vice presidential candidates. It’s just that they do not think Roxas-Robredo could win.
I don’t know when winnability has become among the criteria voters use in choosing whom to vote for. Perhaps this began when surveys became an integral part of the country’s electoral setup. Now everybody, from politicians to ordinary people, denigrate the better bets just because they lag in surveys. Surveys create the bandwagon instead of the quality of the candidate.
As to quality, I say the five presidential candidates all have flaws. Here’s how I view them:
--Miriam Defensor-Santiago is, I say the most qualified. She should have been president in 1992 when she was a rising politician known for his attacks on corrupt politicians. Yet, even if she is already past her peak, she is still the most equipped among this election’s wannabes because of her intellect and experience in public service. Her biggest drawback is her health.
--Binay is another veteran politician and could have been the runaway frontrunner had his alleged corrupt acts not been exposed by the Senate, the Office of the Ombudsman, and even the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). But that he managed to downplay these allegations during the campaign and is able to still make himself a contender is what makes him a dangerous bet. If he is corrupt and wily, what will happen if he becomes president?
--Poe. She is the most inexperienced of all the presidential candidates being a senator for only more than two years. If she becomes president, hers will be a hit or miss governance, one that may end up too reliant on traditional politicians, some of whom may be corrupt, for advice. But she is relatively clean obviously because she is new. In this sense she is better than Binay.
--Duterte. He is a veteran in local politics like Binay, having ruled Davao City for many years. I also have not heard of any allegation that he is corrupt. But he is dangerous because of his promotion of an anti-criminality drive that hews to the principle that the end justifies the means. He could weaken adherence to the Constitution and the laws of the land.
--Roxas. He has the most experience in running national government agencies having served in the Cabinets of President Noynoy Aquino and former presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Joseph Estrada. He is also well-educated and has not been linked to corrupt acts. But he supposedly lacks charisma and has a wife many people dislike: Korina Sanchez. He also supposedly could not win.
So there. That's what I mean by my saying that Roxas is the “better bet” for president. But because of his supposed “weaknesses” that I think do not impact much on his governance if he becomes president, many people are hesitant to openly state their preference for him. That allows the “not-so-good bets” to top the ratings game.
(khanwens@gmail.com/ twitter: @khanwens)